The overwhelming favourite amongst his 25 surveyed peers was North Adelaide midfielder Sam Cumming<\/a>. His name was mentioned nine times as one to watch ahead of season 2025, having already made his mark as a bottom-ager where he won the SANFL Under 18 MVP Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Work rate was a key theme in each explanation, with the hard-running onballer making an impression through his standards both on and off the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “He’s amazing. A hard worker and very humble for someone as good as he is,” said Sturt midfielder\/defender Noah Roberts-Thomson<\/a> – a relative of two-time Sydney Swans premiership player, Lewis<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Norwood forward Will Prescott<\/a> seconded that sentiment, adding that Cumming “works his arse off” both in training and games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Cumming is already well known to many as a highly credentialed prospect and National Academy member, perhaps one set to climb the rankings in 2025 is Jevan Phillipou<\/a>. The brother of St Kilda’s Mattaes<\/strong> is cut from the same cloth, possessing great upside as a midfielder-forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Redlegs pair Noah Daw<\/a> and Fergus Myall<\/strong> both spoke of his outstanding GPS numbers, described by the latter as “out of town” compared to all comers. Eagles teammate Lachlan Sands<\/a> also gave a glowing review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I think he has absolutely shone in preseason. He’s running really well, he’s doing a lot of things really well and he’s been a great teammate to me,” Sands said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Four players put Phillipou’s name forward, which is the same number of nominations Aidan Schubert<\/a> yielded. The Central District tall will be among South Australia’s main targets up forward this year and comes from a strong basketball background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “He’s had a really big preseason. If he can take a few marks for us up forward this year it’ll be really good. He’s been training the house down, he’s a really good runner,” said Centrals and State teammate Matthew LeRay<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another North Adelaide midfielder in Blake Oudshoorn-Bennier<\/a> was noted for his step-up in level and leadership this preseason, put forward by three teammates. Among his own choices was tall Norwood defender Noah Daw<\/a>, who is coming off an injury-ravaged year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was almost inevitable that Dyson Sharp<\/a>‘s name would pop up, given his credentials. He nominated Cumming and Bulldogs teammate Douglas Cochrane<\/a> – the only bottom-ager to feature this year. Cochrane and Sharp are both past recipients of the esteemed Kevin Sheehan Medal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sam Cumming (North Adelaide) – 9 nominations * – denotes outside of state squad<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.central.rookieme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Jevan-Phillipou-WWT-2024-SANFL-U18s-1024x683.jpg\")
WHO IS ONE TO WATCH FOR 2025?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Jevan Phillipou (Woodville-West Torrens) – 4
Blake Oudshoorn-Bennier (North Adelaide) – 3
Aidan Schubert (Central District) – 3
Dougie Cochrane (Central District) – 2
Noah Daw (Norwood) – 2
Bayln O\u2019Brien (Norwood) – 2
Dyson Sharp (Central District) – 2
Harley Barker (Sturt) – 1
Gus Downs* (West Adelaide) – 1
Louis Kellaway (Sturt) – 1
Jim Kelly (Norwood) – 1
Mitchell Marsh (West Adelaide) – 1
Cameron Nairn (Central District) – 1
Jesse Nye* (South Adelaide) – 1
Hayden Willmott* (Woodville-West Torrens) – 1<\/p>\n\n\n\n